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Australia for the Youth(ful) Traveller

Join the droves of young people who choose Australia to fulfil their dream of a working holiday, gap year, career break, or overseas study. Australia offers endless opportunities for adventure and a warm, friendly, relaxed lifestyle.

Learn about Australia's working holiday visas, study visas and volunteer opportunities. Find out where backpackers and travellers stay, hang out and play.

Australia is the land of adventure, and we've compiled a few ideas to get you started. Take a camel trek through the Simpson Desert in the Northern Territory, 4WD across South Australia's rugged Flinders Ranges or do the Great Ocean Walk in Victoria. Ski or snowboard winter slopes, trek through ancient rainforests or pick one of our pristine islands to combine adventure with true relaxation. You can dive, snorkel, canoe, kayak and surf all around Australia.

Plan your trip

Planning to stay and work while you're visiting Australia?
If you're aged between 18 and 30 and hold a passport for a country or region participating in Australia's Working Holiday Maker programme, you may be eligible to apply for a 12-month visa which enables you to work in Australia while you are here.

Australia celebrates a number of public holidays throughout the year when banks, offices and some shops are closed. If you are planning to travel to Australia during these peak periods it's wise to book interstate flights, tours and accommodation well in advance, to avoid missing out.

Join the backpacker brigade in Australia's hippest urban enclaves. From Bondi Beach in Sydney to Brisbane's Fortitude Valley, these are places the young and young-at-heart come to stay during their Australian adventure. You'll find hostels, nightlife, places to eat and drink and a vibrant sense of community. Soak up the historic seaside charm in Perth's Fremantle or experience Melbourne's alternative culture in Fitzroy. Swap travel tales beneath the palm trees along Darwin's Mitchell Street or along Cairns' oceanfront esplanade. Explore Adelaide's attractions from the stylish, central East End, dine out in Hobart's Salamanca Place or throw yourself into the high-energy nightlife of Surfers Paradise.

Join the droves of young people who choose Australia to fulfil their dream of a gap year, career break, working holiday or overseas study. Australia offers endless opportunities for adventure and a warm, friendly, relaxed lifestyle.

Australia is generally a safe destination with travellers enjoying unhindered travel experiences in terms of their personal safety and security. Our stable political system, well-maintained roads, low crime rate and high standard of health make it a safe and easy country to explore.

Australia's stable political system, well-maintained roads, low crime rate and high standard of health care make it a safe and relatively easy country to explore. However it's important to be aware of potential environmental hazards, such as bushfires, rough surf and extreme desert heat. You'll need to be thoroughly prepared for outback journeys and long bushwalks or hikes, and take sensible precautions in regards to sharks, crocodiles and poisonous animals. With the following common-sense tips, you can safely enjoy Australia's unique landscapes - from the vast outback to wild ocean beaches and pristine wilderness tracts.

We’re shining the spotlight on Australia’s vibrant cities and their unique attractions and experiences. Each city is distinct from the other but truly Australian in flavour. Learn about city precincts such as The Rocks in Sydney, Brisbane’s South Bank and Perth’s funky central suburbs. Be devoured by Adelaide’s Central Markets. Explore new places and trends, from Melbourne’s summer rooftops to Darwin’s revitalised waterfront and art precinct. Read about our city waterways, botanic gardens and cultural and heritage attractions. Discover new destinations like Albany, Bundaberg and Glenelg. We have great journey ideas to help you explore our cities or use them as a base for your Australian adventure.

Create your own Australian holiday with these easy itinerary ideas. Starting from each of our international gateways, these versatile three-week segments give you an idea of how much you can see and do on even a short Australian holiday. Break them down or combine them to match your time-frame, arrival point and list of ‘must-see' destinations. Weave between city, coast and wilderness or combine the Red Centre with the Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. Australia is a vast country, but with planning you can cover a diversity of landscapes in just a few weeks.

Australia is fringed by more than 8,000 islands, offering every type of holiday experience. Sail through the Whitsundays, 4WD to Fraser Island's rainforests and lakes or pick a tropical paradise in the Great Barrier Reef. Uncover the unique culture of the Torres Strait or Tiwi Islands. Explore the wildlife havens of Kangaroo Island in South Australia or French and Phillip Island in Victoria. Day trip to gorgeous Rottnest Island from Perth or cruise the remote, spectacular Buccaneer Archipelago, off the coast of Derby. Island hop around Sydney Harbour or fly to Lord Howe Island, home to the world's southernmost coral reef. Discover the wild beauty of the islands off Tasmania, itself Australia's biggest island.

With 50,000 kilometres of spellbinding coastline, Australia is the perfect place for a coastal journey. Drive the Pacific Coast Touring Route from Sydney to Brisbane via bohemian Byron Bay and the neon-lit Gold Coast. Or follow the spectacular coastal route from Sydney to Melbourne, then the Great Southern Touring Route to Bells Beach, lush national parks and the Twelve Apostles. Take in Fremantle, the lush Margaret River and Esperance’s snow-white beaches on a journey through Western Australia’s south-west. Sail through the idyllic Whitsundays Island or immerse yourself in the uncrowded beauty of Tasmania’s East Coast.

With its vast distances and remote, rugged terrain, many of Australia's journeys are ready-made adventures. Travel across northern Australia on the Savannah Way, which starts in Cairns and ends on the other side of the country in Broome. Or cut the continent from south to north on the Explorers Highway, which takes you from Adelaide through Australia's Red Centre to Darwin. On the comprehensive South Australia Loop, you can climb to the rim of Wilpena Pound, hike part of the Heysen Trail and dive shipwrecks in Kangaroo Island. Go on and off the Gibb River Road on a 4WD adventure through the vast Kimberley.

Stretch your legs and expand your soul on Australia's epic walking trails. Do day walks, short scenic sections or stride end-to-end on journeys that take weeks and even months to complete. Traverse Tasmania's World Heritage-listed wilderness on the Overland Track or follow the Larapinta Trail across the Northern Territory's West MacDonnell Ranges. Do sections of South Australia's Heysen Trail, which stretches from the Fleurieu Peninsula to Flinders Ranges. Spend three days in the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains or hike through Gondwanan rainforest on the Gold Coast. Do day walks through Victoria's Wilsons Promontory or soak up the beauty of Western Australia's south-west corner on the Bibbulmun Track.

Many of Australia's journeys bring you closer to the world's oldest culture. Drive the Red Centre Way to sacred sites such as Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Listen to the Dreamtime legend surrounding the comet crater of Gosse Bluff and browse the work of local Aboriginal artists in Alice Springs. Follow the South Australian Loop through the Flinders Ranges, where you can see Aboriginal rock art and hear Adnyamathanha creation stories over the campfire. Drive the Great Southern Touring Route to the Victoria's Grampians, home to around 60 rock art sites. Or see the rich, detailed rock art galleries of Kakadu National Park as part of the Natures Way.

Experience the transformative power of the Australian outback in the Red Centre and Western Australia's Kimberley. Snorkel with brilliant fish and coral on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. See koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, sea lions, pelicans and penguins on Kangaroo Island, a haven for Australia wildlife. Discover the wetlands and waterfalls of Kakadu National Park, home to one third of all Australian birds. Or step back in time in the Daintree Rainforest, where some of the Australian plants date back to Gondwanaland. Between May and September, you can spot whales along Western Australia's vivid wildflower trail.

Across the country, there are thousands of events in cities and town held to mark the country’s annual national day, Australia Day. Celebrations in cities such as Sydney include concerts by the harbour as well as the annual Ferrython ferry race, a fun run and gala ball in Darwin or the parade, concerts and fireworks in Adelaide.

Opening the Formula One World Championship series, the Australian Grand Prix is the most watched sporting event held in Australia, with a huge global audience. But the best spot is trackside at the challenging Albert Park street circuit, which has a range of great viewing spots from high-end hospitality sites to relaxing grassy hills.

2 – 6 April 2015
Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, 11km north of Byron Bay in northern NSW.
One of the most beloved festivals in Australia, the Byron Bay Bluesfest attracts some of the best blues and roots performers from across the globe. Past performers have included Buddy Guy, Paul Simon, Iggy and the Stooges and Elvis Costello. The festival also boasts wonderful camping grounds and any number of great food and beverage market stalls.

*Disclaimer: All prices quoted are in Indian Rupees (INR). Tourism Australia is not a travel agent and is not responsible for providing, controlling or facilitating bookings of the offers on the products and services on this page. Such offers, products and services are provided by individual airline operators and are subject to the terms and conditions imposed by those parties. Please visit the airline operator’s website for further information and to avail the offer. Tourism Australia makes no representations or guarantees as to the reliability, currency, accuracy or availability of the information provided on this page. Links to third party sites are for your information only and Tourism Australia makes no representations whatsoever about any other websites which you may access through this website. Tourism Australia does not control these sites nor accept any responsibility for the use of sites which are owned or operated by third parties and makes no representation or warranty in relation to the standard, class, quality, service levels, or fitness for purpose of any services, nor does it endorse or in any respect warrant any products or services by virtue of any information, material or content linked from or to this site.

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